Talk:Pathognomonic

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It would be difficult for the average native English speaker to work out this word's pronunciation, without having ever heard it spoken. The 'g' is not silent, though most people would assume it is. Perhaps this is worth mentioning somewhere in the article. --76.223.219.98 05:55, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

I noted a couple of ERRORs in this article!

"Wheezing on expiration" is mentioned as a pathognomic sign of ANEMIA - THIS IS NOT TRUE!
Anemia is lack of red blood cells, which may be due to decreased production (i.e. bone marrow disease) or to loss of red blood cells exceeding the production capacity (bleeding, hemolysis for instance); main symptoms of anemia are: fatigue, racing heartbeat, eventual dizziness/fainting if a patient is having very severe anemia, patient is looking pale; these symptoms/signs are not pathognomic signs of anemia, but can also be found in other medical condition(s) i.e. they are unspecific as opposed to pathognomic!
"Wheezing on expiration" fits ASTHMA perfectly!

Petechiae is listed as being a pathognomic sign of Dengue (fever virus infection).
While petecchiae might be seen in Dengue fever, petecchiae is also a rather common sign in several other medical conditions - especially of infectious origin - let me for instance mention:
Meningococ-sepsis is often a very fulminant infectious disease that can be lethal within less than 24 hours after aquiring the infection and before development of clinical sign of meningitis; the only early sign of meningococ infection could very well be a quickly spreading petecchial rash due to beginning DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulation), an often fatal condition, resulting in loss of thrombocytes (platelets) which are clumped together. Thrombocytopenia of other causes may also cause bleeding spots of any size, from small petecchiae to larger hemorrhages (for instance in the brain).
Petecchia should therefore always prompt immediate medical attention, so the cause can be detected early and if treated correctly it may save the patients life!
Petecchia / bleeding spots of up to few mm-size are also a sign in a (tickborne) rickettsial bacterial infectious disease, that is named "spotted fever" / spotted typhus (ex. RMSF) for that very reason; other rickettsia are louse borne and may also give hemorrhagic rash, but all rickettsial agents do not give rash!
Petecchial rash can also be seen in other infections; petecchia / easy bruising is quite often noted by patients with (Lyme) Borreliosis, usually intermittend, concurrent with other flare symptoms - and perhaps this is more common in patients co-infected with another - also tickborne infection - the piroplasmic parasite Babesia [tickborne infections are my special area of interest]... Dengue fever virus is a flavi-virus [1], but so is for instance TBE virus, Yellow fever virus, West-Nile virus and many others viruses - there is a likelihood that infectious agents belonging to the same family could perhaps cause similar symptoms?
Petecchiae - with declive localisation - is a sign of vascular inflammation AKA VASCULITISs - named "purpura allergica" AKA "Schönlein Henoch purpura" (AKA leucocytoclastic vasculitis of small vessels; IgA complexes can usually be detected on the endothelial lining) - the condition may have infectious cause underlying it or may be toxic / "allergic" in nature (often the cause is not found!)
AS there are a number of probable causes of petecchiae, and probably more than I've mentioned here - petecchiae can not be called a pathognomic sign for anything, really!

—Preceding unsigned comment added by MKroun (talk • contribs) 01:45, 8 October 2007 (UTC)